For an EDC, You’ll Do No Better Than Au Sabot’s Mariner’s Knife

The storied French knifemaker has been around since 1870

By Alex Lauer

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14 March 2019

You’ve heard the advice that every man should own a sharp knife. Hell, you maybe even read it on this website two days ago. But unless you’re, say, an electrician or forest ranger, you probably don’t need a hundred-dollar blade or clip-on, ergonomic, 100-piece multitool.

So how do you pick a blade when, if you’re being honest with yourself, you really just need something better than a pen or a key to open boxes? One word: Provenance.

First and foremost is L’Armor, also known as the Mariner’s knife or The London, which is available in three handle materials — cattle horn, olivewood and palo santo. It’s an ideal upgrade from a Swiss Army Knife, for those who are still toting around the one they were gifted before their first sleepaway camp in 5th grade (go ahead and pass that onto your kid). Here, you’ve got a durable stainless steel blade in a sheepsfoot design, which Au Sabot notes was “the only one permitted on ships as it was considered less likely to cause serious injury in the event of a brawl.” Similarly, you’ll be less likely to cause serious injury when, um, slicing that stubborn packing tape.

Also on sale is the arguably more iconic, but less economical Le Thiers, a laguiole-style knife named after the epicenter of the French knife industry and town where Au Sabot has been headquartered since the beginning. It’s a carbon steel blade, and more perilous than L’Armor, but if you fancy yourself a fledgling sommelier, you’ll appreciate the corkscrew.